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Victim of Fruitvale slaying identified

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Department on Thursday identified a man whose body was found at a Fruitvale apartment where he lived.

Luis Alberto Vazquez Oliva, 27, was commonly known as “Alberto” or “Beto,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

Oliva’s death is being investigated as a homicide.

Authorities have not explained how he died, and Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Matt Lewis said the information is being withheld for investigative reasons.

A neighbor reported finding Oliva’s body at 6:20 a.m. Monday inside Unit 6 at Diamond Terrace apartments, 540 29 Road. The Sheriff’s Department said evidence recovered at the apartment suggests Oliva may have known the suspect. Two neighbors in the complex, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Oliva lived with another man and the pair were friendly, although the neighbors said they didn’t know either man well.

“He was just a shy, sweet guy,” one neighbor said of Oliva.

A couple, next-door neighbors to Oliva’s apartment on the second floor, said Oliva lived there with another man since at least February. The couple said they usually sleep with bedroom windows open, and they heard no disturbance from Oliva’s apartment that night.

Mark Taylor, who lives at 536 29 Road, said a couple who lived at the apartment had a history of fighting with each other. Taylor said he observed people coming and going from the unit at “odd hours of the night.”

The Sheriff’s Department asked anyone who may have known Oliva to call investigator Peter Burg at 970-244-3263, or Mesa County Crime Stoppers, 970-241-STOP.